The GABA in Brisbane will be the venue for the first Ashes test down under, when Australia look for revenge against old enemies England. After going down 3-0 in English soil, Australia will be desperate to turn the tables on a very experienced and settled England side. Much has been talked about the series, with a war of words erupting between the sides.

Alistair Cook will captain a confident looking England side, who will look to give Australia more of the same as they did back home. The likes of Chris Tremlett and James Anderson will enjoy the fast Australian wickets, while the spin of Graeme Swann will also be effective, given the extra bounce. Kevin Pietersen will play in his 100th test for England, he will be well-motivated to celebrate the occasion with a century behind his name with the bat. Michael Carberry is set to play his second test for England, and might be seen as the only weakness in the England batting order. Joe Root will be given a hard time in Australia, after some off-field incidents back in England, he will have to show decent character if he is to survive the verbal onslaught from both the Australian side and the crowd.

The in-form George Bailey is set for a test debut, if he is half as good in the longer format as he was in the recent Indian ODI series, he will be a handful. Australia have a very attacking top order, with the likes of Watson, Warner and Bailey. This will be a recipe for fast run scoring, which normally leads to test match results. Michael Clarke seems to have recovered fully, and will lead the side.

Expect genuine hard test match cricket between two mentally tough sides. England might have the edge on their rivals due to the experience factor.